In part one of this article, I covered why I believe those who want to increase the minimum wage are fighting an uphill battle. I want to look at the bigger picture of this issue and look at the impact it will leave, and whether or not that is a positive one. I think government welfare benefit programs play a huge role in this wage debate and in the overall push ‘n pull of our economic stability. Conservatives will say that if people don’t like working for minimum wage then they should further their education and get a higher paying job, or go into business for themselves.

Liberals would say that some are more fortunate than others and that people are working too hard to maintain a mundane living to find any time and/or take on the debt required to do any of the above. Conservatives will refute by saying,” Excuses, excuses!” Then liberals respond with, “Why should I have to go through all that just to earn a living?” Phew! It seems like anytime this issue is brought up, it turns into a conflict over where the line lands, marking where empathy should end and where personal responsibility should begin. I would like to share what I see from both sides of the argument, and let you decide.

The Liberal Hypocrisy The only way employees who have a liberal view on the minimum wage debate have any chance of getting what they want, is to use conservative logic to their own advantage by having strength in numbers. If enough people refuse to work at the current minimum wage, in order for these businesses to stay in business, then there will be no choice for employers but to increase their wages. Those who are refusing to work at the current rate should be prepared to support the increase in wage by paying more for their products and services, in return for a higher rate of pay. The hypocrisy commonly involved with an issue like this is that the people calling CEOs and business owners “greedy” are typically the same type of people who are unwilling to pay more for a cheeseburger, even if they are aware that the extra cost goes towards paying those employee’s wages. I believe it is this type of inconsistency in empathy and economic values of the liberal ideology that is contributing to the implosion of our economy. The Conservative Contradiction This doesn’t mean that the “greedy” conservative business owners get to wipe their hands of this issue, and are off without a hitch. A certain level of responsibility needs to be taken from those who are in a position of power, to take a closer look at the bigger picture. Some of the same conservative principles, not values, that built our economy up will be the same one’s that break our economy down. I say principles, because it’s the job market that decides the minimum wage. A conservative says, “Why should pay him so much an hour for this job, when she is willing to do the same job but for less pay.” The bottom line is that on pen and paper, it just makes better business sense based on conservative principle, to hire someone who can get the job done at the lowest cost. Using that same principle, but replacing money spent with time spent, some liberals see no point in spending forty plus hours a week, away from their friends and families, when they can just leverage their poverty to get benefits from several different welfare packages that would equate to a higher salary than if they were to sacrifice their time working for a minimum wage. This is no doubt an abuse of our welfare system, and lack of respect for the values it was built on, but as a matter of principle it makes sense but also I believe this very conservative capitalist ideology is just another contribution to the implosion of our economy.